Construction industries are always on the lookout for better technologies which can help them achieve much more streamlined workflows to bridge the gap between high-end architectural visuals and raw BIM models. Immersive workspace company, Igloo Vision and Singapore-based software start-up, VRcollab have recently collaborated to open brand-new possibilities for the AEC industry. Now we will have Igloos in construction for bringing enhanced coordination.
VRCollab allows for CAD data to be easily and quickly displayed in an interactive game engine environment with different rendering/lighting styles and interactivity methods. This allows for quicker design iterations and changes to the model to be shown and explored in realistic ways.
The integration between Igloo Vision’s technology and VRCollab perfectly corroborates the vision of Gong Yiwei, co-founder and CTO, VRcollab, who aims to make BIM more accessible. According to him, Igloo’s immersive technology makes coordination much more interactive for all project stakeholders. It adds a whole new dimension to how everyone visualizes BIM.
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VR modelling enhances design process
Igloo’s powerful immersive technology is used by a number of AEC enterprises to get inside their BIM models. This way they can review whatever they’re designing in real-time and real space where they retain the benefits of teamwork and body language. With VRcollab, this goes even further. VRcollab takes 3D data from BIM projects to easily create a VR model in the cloud, accessible from anywhere in the world. VRcollab integrates with different types of BIM software — Revit, Navisworks, Rhino3D, Archicad, Sketchup.
This means it’s not only easy for collaboration amongst BIM users, but can engage stakeholders who don’t know or understand BIM very well. They can step into a virtual model where they see the BIM project freed from the constraints of 2D in easier-to-understand 3D.
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In an Igloo space, the virtual model can be transplanted into real space. Entire teams can walk into what would otherwise require looking at a single screen or VR headsets, making it perfect for design reviews and updates. A team of BIM users can even view their 3D VR model inside an Igloo while other users or stakeholders connect remotely from different offices, countries, or continents.
Colin Yellowley, founder and managing director, Igloo Vision, rightly points out that the most exciting part of this collaboration is that VRcollab not only makes it easy to bring BIM projects into the Igloo space but it also connects people from outside to join the virtual model. When entire teams are able to go inside a model together, it becomes easier to communicate.
In the post COVID world, where remote working has become a norm, this collaborative technology could be real boon to the AEC industry, enabling them to achieve another level of excellence in their functioning.
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